Grand Junction, Colorado: Rattlesnake Arches, Perseverance Arch, Grand Meeander Cave, West Rim Arch, Two Feathers Arch, Will Minor Arch, and Crown Arch (April 29–May 6, 2012)

And again: rented essentially the same house for the first week of May.

Sunday April 29, 2012: Drive in, with short hike on the Scout Trail in Glenwood Springs.

Monday, April 30, 2012: Rattlesnake Arches loop. Rich & Beth Seeley, John Hutchinson & Maureen Marshall, Joan Hutchinson and me.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012: On May 1, 2012, we got to Perseverance Arch from below! This was a long day: 9 hours and 17.3 miles round-trip. Our group consisted of John Hutchinson, Elke Dratch, weatherman Dann Cianca of Grand Junction, and me. We descended to the canyon floor via the break in the cliffs described in my 2011 report. It was easy to find and descend. What a spectacular arch!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012: Mee Alcove (Grand Meeander Cave). Elke and me. I made a horrible mistake at the trailhead — wrong parking place. We hiked 3 hours (5+ miles) before getting back to car and starting over (5.8 miles). No camera so no new pics. See 2011 report for pics.

Thursday, May 3, 2012: West Rim Arch, bottom and top. John, Maureen, Joan, and me. 5.8 miles. No new pics.

Friday, May 4, 2012: Devils Canyon loop. John, Maureen, Joan, and me. 7 miles.

Saturday, May 5, 2012: Two Feathers, Will Minor, and Crown Arches in Mee Canyon, Dave Blakeslee, Jonathan Kriegel, and me. 12 miles.

Sunday, May 6. A morning 2.5 hour hike on the Gordon Trail; then drive home. Joan, Jonathan, Dave, me.

Finally, I climbed through Rainbow Arch from the bottom. I guess it is a Class 4 climb, as a few moves on the upper section take a little planning. A video of some of the climb (by Rich Seeley) is here. The view from inside:
Akiti Arch.
Our first view of the arch, from the top of the drop-in point. There was water in the canyon bottom in this very dry year. Note the large cave (dark ellipse) on the distant ridge up and right of Perseverance Arch. On a larger image one can see a white spot in that cave and some research shows that it is Black Hole Arch, a small arch documented by Craig Shelley.
The glorious view of Perseverance Arch (John Hutchinson and Elke Dratch below it). Last year we could only get to the top, but the view from the bottom is superior. This requires locating a certain easy-to-find drop in point on the opposite side of the canyon.
Here is a shot from below that shows the splendor of the large arch (photo by Dann Cianca).
There was good tafoni to be had at the arch.
Two Feathers Arch, which we also visited two years ago on our trip to the area.
Will Minor Arch, which one can view from both sides. First the front side, with Dave Blakeslee scrambling around. This is a fantastic arch because of the convoluted forms that one can investigate from both sides.
The back side.
We cut straight across the canyon to Crown Arch. Here is a shot that hides the holes, but shows the intricacy and shape nicely.
And a few more shots of this wonderful configuration of sandstone.